How to Future-Proof Your School How can IT teams prepare for the wave of change?

Over the past decade, the corporate world has reimagined its relationship with IT.

The IT Department has gone from being a place you go to get a projector connected to a driving force of innovation and productivity. If experts are to be believed, the same thing is about to happen in education.

How can IT teams prepare for this wave of change? What should they be doing right now to set themselves up for the future?

We spoke to several IT pros, including the team at Novatech and Lourdes IT services lead Matt Setchell about how teaching is changing, how IT teams are responding and what you can do right now to get ahead of the curve.

How is technology changing?

Technology can put the students in control of their own learning and help them find ways of learning that work best for them. It also means they don't have to request help in every class, which can reduce the stigma.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Technology is giving students and teachers more flexibility

Education used to be fairly one-size-fits-all. The teacher would deliver their lesson plan and the students would gather in a classroom to listen.

Technology has given students and teachers more flexibility in terms of how the learning is delivered
, where it takes place and what support is available. Students can now interact more easily with teachers and the rest of their class via Google Classroom and Microsoft OneNote - working on their class work or homework remotely at any time, and, depending on the teacher, garner feedback at any time too.

Students who struggle with reading can use Immersive Reader to follow along. Students who can't physically attend can watch remotely or on-demand. Students who struggle with typing can use a stylus or voice recognition.

Coronavirus has sharpened our appreciation of the value of remote learning. But location is just one part of a much wider trend.

Edutech is about giving teachers and students more options so they can tailor the learning experience to students' needs and preferences.

Using technology has become a core life skill

Bringing technology into the classroom not only enhances the learning experience, it gives students the opportunity to get to grips with IT. Students that don't benefit from this early exposure will be disadvantaged in the long run.

It's also important that students feel inspired by technology. Positive early experiences will encourage them to explore and discover more for themselves.

Today's students are being trained for jobs that don't even exist yet. Nobody can say for sure what the job market of the future will look like, but it's certain that technology will play a big part.

If these kids are going to be able to not only use technology but push it forward and innovate they need to be exposed to the full potential of IT as early as possible.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

IT adoption is accelerating

A lot of schools have struggled to invest in IT over the last few years. It's rarely seen as a budgetary priority.

In fact, it's common for students and teachers to have access to better technology at home than they do in school.

The coronavirus situation has highlighted the need to invest in IT and the risks of not doing so. Since IT adoption rarely moves backwards, it's likely that schools will be more aware of the need to invest strategically and proactively in IT in the future, rather than just waiting for the need to arise.

What can IT do to facilitate these changes?

Work with a specialist

When you're managing an entire school, college or university's devices and infrastructure, it can be hard to keep track of the latest technology and best practice. This can leave the organisation paying more than it should be for certain things or exposed to security risks.

Working with an external partner allows you to tap into the latest thinking, while being able to focus on your core responsibilities. They can help you find quick wins and build a strategic plan for the future.

Look for partners who specialise in education. Schools' IT needs are subtly different to the corporate world. Consultants with a background in education will also be more familiar with how schools are governed, how budgetary decisions are made and what your teachers are trying to achieve.

One of the most challenging aspects of school IT is that it's fairly non-standard. Every school will have a different approach.

A specialist that can provide an end-to-end service will be able to help you define your long-term IT strategy and make sure that your equipment and budget allocation matches your goals.

It's important that IT teams find the balance between the operational management of infrastructure and devices and finding new ways to enhance the experience

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Make a distinction between operational IT and learning support

In the past, IT's role was mainly focussed on managing devices and infrastructure.

Technology has moved further into the classroom and beyond, with IT staff now often expected to work outside of school hours and respond to issues at any time. Now, IT staff split their time between keeping everything working and finding ways to enhance the learning experience.

In order to do this, IT staff have to break out of their comfort zone and have conversations with teachers and management about what they want the learning experience to be.

It's important for the IT team to have a real understanding of what the teachers are doing and what their desired outcomes are. The best way to do this is to speak to them.

This will also help you identify areas where teachers could use more support to get the most out of the equipment you've provided. It's no good supplying interactive touchscreens or whiteboards if only half the faculty know how to use them. Working with a partner that can arrange training for staff might help.

Give yourself options

In the past, schools' IT purchases were largely based on what was available or within budget. Now it needs to be led by how the teachers want to teach and how the students will best engage.

Creating an IT platform which is device agnostic will give you greater flexibility and help make sure that you're focussing on the needs of your users.

Technology and how we use it changes fast, so when you're making purchase decisions, try to focus on solutions which give you the most flexibility today and in the future.

Obviously, a device agnostic approach can create complications in terms of device management. How are you going to manage devices which are used on-site but don't belong to the school, or that do belong to the school but are used off-premises' Thankfully, Microsoft and Google both have applications that support this.

If you need to replace equipment, try to avoid like-for-like swaps. What you had before may not be what you need right now, especially when it comes to devices.

Modern devices may cost a little more but they have longer battery lives, more reliable connectivity and they're designed with schools in mind. Cheap devices are often a false economy.

Shifting your investment towards mobile devices such as laptops will give teachers and students more flexibility. Tablets are another mobile option, but they tend to be less flexible in terms of device management and safeguarding, which can create additional work and costs for IT teams.

Desktops are useful in certain cases like Computing and Media classes, but mobile should be the norm.

Cloud migration has meant that there's less hardware to pay for in terms of infrastructure and networking, but that money will probably have to be reinvested into devices and connectivity.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Define life cycles for your equipment

Knowing where to invest your budget is always a challenge.

Schools with limited budgets can be tempted to put off replacing equipment until it stops working. Unfortunately, this can lead to downtime and the slow decline of your network's speed and stability.

Laptops that are slow to boot or have a slow wifi connection can cost you 5 / 10 minutes of lesson time per class - and sometimes far longer. That's a huge amount of time in the long run.

Every school has a different budget available for IT, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions for where you should invest and how often. But a good approach to prevent these bottlenecks is to stick to product life cycles, so that each piece of equipment is replaced at a specific frequency.

Leasing is another option that can help you manage budgets and equipment lifecycles. Leasing has a bad reputation in some circles but the reality is that most IT equipment does have a lifespan. Leasing helps you make the most of your budget by paying for equipment while it's in its prime.

What are the benefits of leasing?

- You pay less than buying outright
- You don’t own a depreciating asset
- It makes it easier to manage your lifecycles and plan for the future
- You have lower maintenance costs and less downtime
- Supports one-to-one learning schemes

How can you make sure your lease is compliant?

- Check that the lease is for three years or under
- Make sure you’re not paying more than 90% of the capital costs for the equipment minus interest
- Make sure that the software cost of the arrangement is under 20% of the total value of the agreement
- Check that you’re able to return the equipment at the end of the lease period

Take cybersecurity and safeguarding seriously

Trends like 'bring your own device' and cloud computing create security risks which need to be managed.

Investing in firewalls and filtering is a priority, as is making sure that all of your security controls are properly configured. You may also want to introduce multi-factor authentication, which has been proven to reduce the likelihood of accounts being hacked by 99.9%. Our sister company Coconnect, for example, offer Internet connectivity bundled exclusively with Smoothwall, to provide your school with all the security and filtering you need to keep up with the latest government KCSIE legislation.

Obviously, a big part of reducing cybersecurity risk is making sure that the equipment isn't being misused. Filtering should be implemented to control which sites and content users can access. It's also a good idea to write a policy which clearly explains what's allowed, what's not allowed and what the implications of misuse are for teachers and students.

Remember: you're trying to create an environment for young people to learn and flourish and these kids are very tech-savvy. The students will embrace technology.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Should you choose Microsoft or Google Classroom?

One of the key decisions that every school, college or university IT manager needs to make is which platform to choose: Microsoft or Google?

This decision is more complex than it may sound. After all, every school is different, what works for one may not work for another. On top of this, the two platforms are quite similar in a lot of ways.

Thankfully, there are some subtle differences between the two which might help you to make a decision.

Preparing students for the world of work - Microsoft
Microsoft’s applications are ubiquitous and while a lot of startups may run on Google, most businesses still use Microsoft as their platform. Running Microsoft as your platform will give students a chance to get to grips with the platform and applications they’ll be using in work.

User-friendly design - Google
The general consensus is that Google’s applications and systems are easier on new users than Microsoft’s (although some people may disagree). The designs are clean, modern and easy to get to grips with.

IT administration - Microsoft
Microsoft has been building enterprise IT administration systems for decades. As a result, the Microsoft platform has a massive amount of depth.
It’s packed with features that will give IT teams more control over devices, infrastructure, access and permissions. If you want control and granularity, Microsoft is the clear winner

Cost - Google
The two platforms are similarly priced but there is a difference when it comes to devices.
Chromebooks are, on average, cheaper than most Microsoft laptops. This makes them appealing for schools that need to invest in a large number of devices on a limited budget.
If you need more information, check out our Microsoft versus Google Classroom guide.

Where should you start?

Visit the staff room

As we've already mentioned, a great way to learn more about what teachers and management want from IT is to ask them.

IT staff can become isolated in a school environment, or get pigeon-holed as the people who fix things when they stop working. Building relationships with teachers and management is a good way to reframe IT as a strategic partner. You may also want to get involved in school improvement planning processes.

The more you can learn about the day-to-day experiences of your users and what they're trying to achieve, the more value you'll be able to add.

You may also want to learn more about teaching in general. Understanding the theory and the practice of teaching will help you gain a greater appreciation of the context you're working in.

We've got to move away from IT support being seen as separate from the rest of the school's teachers and students.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Reduce frustration wherever you can

Technology can be a great facilitator, but it can totally derail the learning experience when it doesn't work.

Once the essential network and device management work is complete, focus on identifying and resolving hitches or frustrations that teachers and students face. The best way to find these is by inviting feedback.

A lot of schools already use support tickets to process technical problems, but you could also introduce a way for users to submit suggestions or observations rather than technical hitches.

Don't be afraid to experiment

In order to find what works, you're going to need to try things out. Don't be afraid to run tests and trials to see how ideas perform.

One of the reasons that schools often get stuck in a rut is because they're worried about trying new things. They stick with the status quo because they know it works.

An experiment may not always lead to a successful outcome, but it will always lead to some kind of learning, which is valuable progress. In order to create change, you're going to need to take some risks.

Don't be scared to try things out to see if they work. If you don't try something out, you won't know whether it's possible.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Keep pace with the industry

IT staff in schools, colleges and universities can stay in a role for quite a long time. The advantage of this is that they know the ins and outs of their infrastructure. The downside is that it can be easy to fall into a set way of doing things.

IT moves fast. Manufacturers and service providers are always releasing new products, updates and features to help make our networks and devices faster, easier to manage and more secure.

As we've already mentioned, working with an external support partner is a good way to sense-check your approach. There are countless options open to IT staff and relatively few 'rights and wrongs'. A partner that can offer end-to-end support is a great way to ensure that your strategy is still on track.

Some people don't like change

Some people are resistant to change of any kind, irrespective of what it is.

The worst reason to do something is because it's what you've done in the past. If you limit your options to what you know works or what your users are comfortable with, your options are always going to be limited.

Also, not everybody in the school has to like what you're doing.

If the teacher and students are pushing back because the solution genuinely isn't working, then you should listen. But if they're pushing back because they want things to stay as they are, then work with them to try and change their minds.

The nature of IT support will have to change. IT will need to be more involved with teaching and learning outcomes so they can ensure that the IT platform and devices support the teachers' vision.

Matt Setchell, IT Services Lead, Lourdes IT

Over to you

IT in schools is more complex and challenging than it used to be. Thankfully, it's also more dynamic, more interesting and IT staff have a greater stake in important decisions.

By building better relationships and focussing on how you can enhance the learning experience, you can help your school become more proactive in its use of IT. The more comfortable your school gets with introducing new solutions, the more tolerant the culture will become of change and experimentation.

As we've mentioned, one of the biggest challenges of school IT is that it's non-standard. There are very few easy answers that can be applied across the board. Working with an end-to-end partner will help you tap into the latest solutions and sense-check your approach.

We've worked in educational IT for 30 years and we currently supply IT services to over 650 schools, colleges and universities throughout the country. We can take on as much or as little of the work as you like, from design to service delivery or on-hand consultation.